


The Darkness

by fakeahcrevv, hillflirty



Series: The Darkness [2]
Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, FAHC Au, Fake AH Crew, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-08
Updated: 2017-10-13
Packaged: 2018-11-29 06:12:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 15,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11434818
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fakeahcrevv/pseuds/fakeahcrevv, https://archiveofourown.org/users/hillflirty/pseuds/hillflirty
Summary: [In Addition to "I Believe in a Thing Called Love." Jackeoff + Baby Gavin AU.]





	1. Nothing's Gonna Stop Us

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin is still torn up about the events of the month before. He’s slowly trudging through the aftermath, but... what if he didn’t have to, anymore?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so excited to collab with Eliza again!!! I hope you guys like this one!! - Sarah

Everything was _wrong._

_And there was nothing Gavin could do about it._

Several thoughts of this sort rushed through the head of the young teen, as he sat approximately five inches from his computer screen, diving headfirst into his work to distract him from the issues at hand. Geoff was _gone_ , and Jack was missing, probably dead as well - Everything was just a complete _mess_ , he thought, as lines upon lines of the glaring white code rushed past his only _kind of_ blurry vision. There was a small chance that he _may_ or _may not_ have gotten increasingly minimal sleep in the past few weeks since… _that_ had happened. He had Matt, and Trevor, and the rest of the crew, of course, but… They weren’t the faded age of a worn book, the fresh aroma of a brand new, freshly baked cake, the familiar scent of gunpowder - He shook his head, cutting his thoughts off right there, focusing on the hacking job he had been assigned. He also kept one of his monitors constantly flicking between commonly frequented places in Los Santos, hoping for maybe a sign, or a new sense of hope, he had no clue. It was always a good idea to keep a lookout, though, for the thing you’re looking for may be directly in front of you, as they say.

“Gavin? You haven’t been here all night, have you?”

He glanced up to see the weary but cheerful face of Trevor, and Gavin couldn’t help giving the spy a small, tired smile of his own.

“... Yeah, I guess so. Can’t bloody sleep for the life of me,” Gavin replied, the heaviness and fatigue evident in his small voice.

Before he could think about it, however, tears started welling up in his eyes, and they closed as a gentle thumb ghosted over his cheeks, wiping them away. 

“Hey, Gav, it’s okay. It’ll be alright. We’ll find him.”

“But…” a breath of a sob escaped Gavin. “But what if we don’t?”

“That’s not gonna happen, Gavin. You know us, you know the B-team, we would die for you, as well as for Jack. We’ll bring him home.”

Gavin could only silently nod and press against the surprisingly soft hand, a touch he so desperately needed. With a soft huff of breath, Trevor began lightly stroking the young boy’s cheek, eliciting a quiet sigh from the other. This continued for a few moments in complete silence, besides the occasional sniffle from Gavin, before Trevor murmured, “I’m sorry, little bro. I’m so sorry.” In the span of just a couple minutes, Gavin suddenly found himself situated on the couch in the living room with Trevor sitting right next to him. Even though Trevor felt nothing like the scratchy, though not uncomfortable polyester of a suit, or even the softer fabric of a Hawaiian shirt, this was good enough, for now. He leaned against Trevor’s side, legs in his lap and face hidden in his neck, and feeling the familiarity of the other’s head gently resting on his own brought comfort and love.

It didn’t take long for Gavin to begin drifting off. His eyes fluttered shut and his limbs grew heavy as he used Trevor to hide from the light of the world. He was scared to sleep, scared of the nightmares, scared of missing something, _anything_. Any sign of Jack, as well as any recurring memory of Geoff, scared to let himself into a state of being that did not revolve around the memory of his fathers. He didn’t want to, but Trevor was rubbing circles on his back, and humming little tunes and breathing in his hair, and while his dads may be gone, his brother was here. He sure didn’t know best, but maybe someone else did, so if Trevor wanted him to sleep, he would.

It felt like only seconds before his eyes squinted open, just slightly. Everything was darker, and he was on his back - Trevor must have taken him to his bedroom. He saw a growing crack of light start to appear from the doorway, which was being opened. Thinking it was Trevor come to check on him, he let his eyes close once more. What he didn’t expect, however, was the short gasp that came from the direction of the doorway, and the rushed all-too-familiar footfalls followed by a sinking in the bed next to him and a well-known calloused hand on his forehead. It was too good to be true. Gavin let his eyes slip open once more, widening when he realized who was there. Sitting up and letting out what could only be described as some trembling, high-pitched version of, “ _Daddy_!” he wrapped his arms around Geoff, who gave a shaky laugh of his own and wrapped his arms around his boy.

“You’re here, _you’re here_ , but I thought, I _saw_ -”

“Shh, Gavvy, it’s okay. We’ll talk later, go back to sleep.”

“How can I? You’re, oh my god, you’re here!” Gavin had leaned back, was running his hands over Geoff’s face and running through his hair, tears starting to unconsciously flow as Gavin let out shuddering breaths and his hands started to shake. “Where’s your mustache?” Gavin was obviously trying to make jokes, trying to lighten the mood as it felt like his world was both crumbling all over again as well as being pieced together from the ashes left behind. Gavin was numb, overjoyed, disbelieving, and mostly just _scared_. What if this was a dream again? What if Geoff was telling him to go back to sleep and when he woke up Geoff would be just as gone as he was an hour ago? 

“Later, now, lay down.” Geoff gently pushed him back, laying him down on the bed before settling in beside him. “Sleep, Gav. I know you haven’t in days.” Gavin just nodded, still numb but also exhausted to his core. But he was quick to fall back asleep, and the smell of gunpowder and the comforting texture of a tailored suit kept the nightmares at bay for the first time in weeks.

When morning dawned upon the penthouse, Gavin woke up cold. He wasn’t drowsy for the first time in days but he felt the chill creep into his bones and mind, tears flowing once again as everything fell into place, because _of course it was too good to be true_. Geoff was _dead_ , after all. He had seen the bullet wound in his chest, witnessed the blood pooling around him, and had felt his father’s hand grow colder and colder as all of his life slowly dripped away in front of the teen. Gavin sat up and proceeded to stand - whether he liked it or not, his work wasn’t going to sit around forever, and it wasn’t right of him to shove it all onto the already busy Matt. He had to pull his own weight, take care of his own responsibilities, and sitting around while doing nothing but think of his fathers would do nothing but launch him until memories of the past, which was something he couldn’t quite afford, at the moment. He was the Golden Boy, after all. Poster child of Los Santos, reigning Prince of the Fake AH Crew, and overall the terror that kept petty criminals in line.

As he made his way out of the bedroom and into the hallway, however, he couldn’t help but notice the faint sizzling coming from the kitchen. Instead of immediately making his way to his office, as he usually did after the rare occasion that he did get any sort of rest, he headed in the opposite direction. The sweet, sticky aroma of buttermilk and the sizzling tang of bacon met his nose. _Who? Trevor can’t cook_. He silently pondered, nearly slipping on the sudden hard wood while he was lost in thought. When he reached the kitchen, he stopped dead. It couldn’t be; had his dream been real? There was no denying the tall man in front of him, with the same dark hair and finely tailored suit that always came with the memory of-

“Geoff!”

The man turned to face him and, just as he had thought, it was indeed his father. Geoff donned a wide grin and set down his spatula, opening his arms wide, and Gavin didn’t hesitate before launching himself into the other, causing Geoff to stumble back, trying to regain his footing by placing a hand on the stove. This elicited a pained hiss from the man, and Gavin squeaked before jumping away, tugging Geoff with him, 

“Geoff, Geoffy, I’m so sorry, Geoffrey, are you okay, Geoff?” Gavin rushed Geoff to the sink, turning the cold water on and shoving his hand under it. Gavin watched as the red faded, no sign left over of Gavin’s mistake. "Geoffrey Ramsey, what the ever loving fuck.”

“Wait, wait, Gav, hear me out-”

“There’s- Geoffrey, what the bloody hell is going on?”

Geoff placed both of his hands on the lad’s shoulders, “Gavin, listen to me. Don’t freak out, alright?”

“... Yeah, sure, fine, gotcha, not gonna freak out, gonna stay composed-” Gavin was cut off mid ramble by Geoff.

“I’m immortal.”

Geoff felt his boy’s shoulders go stiff under his hands, and his mouth snap shut. His eyes, those glittering forest-green eyes he had always loved so much, grew wide and stared into the calming blue gaze of his own. Gavin saw how his father’s eyes remained unwavering, and as clear as they had always been, the blazing blue Gavin had always drawn his strength from, and he slowly nodded.

“Well, damn. Okay, then. So… when you died…”

“I didn’t actually die, Gav. Though, it was my first time, so it took me much longer to recover from it.”

“Your first time? Longer? So you’ve died _again_ since then? Geoffrey!” Gavin couldn’t help the pure fear that shot through him, for a split-second, and his expression definitely made it obvious.

“I- Shit… Yeah, Gav. How the hell was I supposed to figure out all of _this_ ,” he moved his hands to gesture at himself, “without dying again? I didn’t like doing it, but I wanted to make sure… to make sure I didn’t accidentally fuck you over, or the rest of the crew, for that matter. You come first, always.”

The lock on the penthouse door was deafening in the silence that followed.

“Hey, Gav, where are you? It’s only noon, usually you’re moping on the couch right now!” Trevor’s voice echoed through the home. When he found the aforementioned couch empty, Trevor continued looking through the penthouse - but froze when he peeked into the kitchen. “... Geoff?”

Gavin seemed to snap out of his temporary lull, turning to face Trevor, “Trev, boi, look who’s back!”

“But… how? I thought he was d-”

“Trevor, he’s immortal!”

“W- wha-” Trevor took a moment to gather his thoughts, before finally just shrugging, “... Okay, then. I guess it’s really the only explanation for him being back, anyway. Though, I do have one question,” His eyes narrowed just a bit, as he fixed his boss with a steely glare, “Why didn’t you return sooner, Geoff? Gav was _miserable_. You know I love you like a father, but I love Gavin like a brother and what you did crushed him.”

“... I know, Trevor. That is entirely my fault, I admit it, but I didn’t want to come back, before… before I figured out what the _fuck_ was going on. Once I figured I knew enough.. I came back. I’m just sorry that I took so long.” He offered one of his tattooed hands to the younger man in front of him.

Trevor looked Geoff up and down, walking towards the older man before putting a finger to his chest, causing Geoff’s outstretched hand to lower as he looked at the other with slightly widened eyes. “ _Our_ boy was a mess, he was _torn to pieces_ , and we were the ones that-”

“Trevor, it’s fine! Really, it is,” Gavin cut in, grabbing Trevor’s hand. 

“You didn’t sleep for _days_ , Gavin. None of this is fine!” Trevor shot back, glaring at Geoff before pulling Gavin into a side-hug.

“But-” Gavin tried to respond, before he was interrupted.

“Do you think I _liked_ being gone for so long? Do you really believe that I would stay away from Gavin, from all of you, for so long, just for the hell of it?” Something in Geoff’s gaze made the two brothers freeze. There was the bone-chilling authority of the Fake AH Crew’s kingpin, of course, but it was tinged with something deeper. Regret. Pain. His eyes trailed over every minor difference in his two adopted children. The darkened bags that seemed to be deeply stained into the space under Gavin’s eyes, the debris marks on Trevor’s arms that showed his recent activity in the field, the way the two, somehow, had an even deeper familiarity between them than he’d seen before. Geoff had missed a month, only a month, yet he had missed so much more.

“Geoff, I-” Trevor tried to speak up, after a moment of pondering.

Geoff held his hand up, “No, it’s okay. I understand that you’re angry, upset that I was gone for so long. I’m upset with myself, trust me. I feel this cut as deep as the rest of you.” Geoff noticed something uncharacteristic in the man in front of him - his eyes looked full of unshed tears.

“Gavin wasn’t the only one you hurt, Geoff,” His voice was low, shaking just a small bit, and it barely rose above the continued sizzling in the background. The loud beeping of the waffle maker made Gavin squawk as their moment was broken, and Geoff yelled, rushing to unplug the machine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wOOO, Geoff's back!!! - Sarah
> 
> check out our tumblrs: [Sarah](https://www.starryalpha.tumblr.com) and [Eliza](https://www.hillflirty.tumblr.com)


	2. Holding My Own

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Update Day! I am super impatient and also I love you all. <3 - Eliza

It had been a week since Geoff’s return.

Geoff being back was most _definitely_ a major improvement to the conditions of the month before, but it was still too quiet without Jack, which was reasonable. After all, a part of his family was back, but still not whole.

Geoff’s shriek was the first thing to wake Gavin up. Gavin shot up from his bed, rushed to the back bedroom, and let out a squawk of his own as his eyes were met with what was definitely a sight for sore eyes. Geoff was sitting up straight, staring at something that was sticking up from the other side of the bed. The teen inched his way inside the room, not quite believing it was who he thought it was, and almost burst out in tears when he saw a glimpse of red hair shift under the covers.

“Jack?” Geoff whispered, gingerly reaching out a hand to poke at the man beside him. Jack just let out a quiet “hmph” before slipping open one eye, glancing at Geoff.

Gavin then proceeded to actually cry, “ _Dad_!” and promptly climbed over Geoff, laying down between the two and poking Jack until he looked at him. The bearded man then turned over to face the two, pulling the joyfully sobbing Gavin close and pressing a kiss to his head.

“Hey there, Gav.”

Gavin snuggled closer to his other father, and felt more warmth behind him as Geoff lowered himself and wrapped his arms around his family. He was ecstatic, now that he was finally whole, that both of his fathers were _here, they were really here_! and he let out a choked laugh as he felt Geoff’s stubble rub across his scalp as the elder leaned over to kiss Jack.

“Gaaaaay,” he managed to get out, between his happy sobs. 

His eyes slammed shut as the familiar fingers jokingly flicked his nose, causing the boy to giggle and nuzzle closer to the older man, and Jack's arms were quick to return to holding his boy, his baby, closer to his heart.

“Jack… what happened to you?” Geoff suddenly murmured, the two breaking apart while Geoff gently rested his head on top of Gavin’s. That appeared to be the wrong thing to say, though, as Jack’s arms around Gavin stiffened. Gavin gave a surprised squeak, causing Jack to quickly relax and rub the boy’s back.

“Sorry, Gav. Geoff, I…” he paused for a moment, “... I don’t want to talk about it.”

-

The warehouse was damp and, in general, far too hot for Gavin’s liking. He made sure to keep close to his fathers, who were walking deeper and deeper inside the wretched place. He would later claim that it was to make sure these “Lads” knew who he was, that he wasn’t someone to be messed with or ignored. But, in reality, it was because he was honestly afraid of what could happen here. What if their offer was denied? What if they decided to attack them? Sure, they were immortal and all, but he still despised the thought of himself, or his fathers, for that matter, getting shot.

Unfortunately for him, when they finally reached the meeting place, the Lads were already there. And, to add onto his utter misfortune, _they wouldn’t stop staring at him_. It took everything in him not to shy away from their curious glares, but to meet them head on, his deep green meeting their various shades of brown. Gavin kept one hand on the tail of Geoff’s suit, and the other on a part of Jack’s shirt, to help keep him calm. When Geoff finished listing to them his plans on the upcoming heist and the backup they needed, The redhead, he believed that one was called Michael, scoffed.

“... That’s all you need? Are you fucking serious?” The leader’s question was met with silence. “Yeah, fuckin- sure, whatever, sounds easy enough.”

Gavin was thankful to have the chance to look away from the three stares to glance at Geoff, to gauge his reaction. His father only had a slight furrow in his brow, though, and with an inward sigh, he realized that he was planning on hiring these three. They needed the manpower, he knew that, but he didn’t know how he was going to tolerate the three _just looking at him_ for more than twenty minutes at a time.

“Anyways, who’s the one not talking?” spoke up the man with shockingly green hair, Jeremy? James? No, Jeremy, that was right. 

“He’s a member, don’t worry about him.”

“Then why’d you bring him along?” The third man asked. He had never been introduced, but he had a quick wit and dry sense of humor already that relieved Gav, even if it was only the most minute amount.

Gavin finally decided to speak up, both nervous at their glances and pissed at being spoken about as if he wasn’t there. “I’m Gavin.”

Jeremy was the first to respond, eyes going wide and slightly bouncing on his feet.

“Golden Boy Gavin? Held on to Los Santos while Ramsey was missing, Gavin? I thought you never left that penthouse of yours without your shades!” Jeremy got even more excited as he spoke, head ducking around to see between Jack and Geoff, hoping for a full view of Gavin. The other two boys joined in on Jeremy’s excitement, trying to snatch every look and glance they could grab at the now-known Golden Boy with glee.

It took every ounce of strength in him to not hiss as he tried to shrink even further behind the two Gents that tried their damnedest to hide him further, but at least he knew he was shielded from them coming any closer. Jack, his personal life saver, butted in with a, “He’s none of your concern at the moment. We are,” his hardened amber eyes focusing on the three young men. The man in the purple hoodie just shrugged. Michael looked like he was fuming, still wanting to know what Gavin’s purpose was for being there, and Jeremy continued trying to get a glance at him. Thankfully, his ever-increasing grip on his fathers’ clothing prevented him from bolting straightaway.

Jeremy let out a gleeful, “All right, we’ll talk more about this later, then? We hope to hear from you soon.” He sent a teasing wink towards Gavin before all three of the Lads turned around to exit the building. He stared after Jeremy for a moment, before letting go of his iron-grip and following Geoff and Jack out of the building. As they reached their car and climbed inside, Geoff turned to look at his son. His eyes widened just slightly at the wide look of fear and the timidness in his body language, and he placed a gentle hand on the boy’s leg.

“Sorry, Gav. I didn’t think they’d be that interested in you,” The elder murmured. 

“N-No, it’s fine. With how I spread my name around Los Santos while you were… gone, I should’ve expected criminals like them to recognize me.” Gavin's voice was small, wary, and wildly unusual for the boy. He really had changed while they were gone, and it hit Geoff with a pang.

“... Okay, then, if you say so.”

-

Another week had passed by - now it was the day of the heist planning. Gavin was nothing but strained and oozing plenty of his persona’s typical faux confidence and sarcasm as, against all of his better judgement, the Lads strolled casually into the penthouse. He made sure to keep an eye on them, in case they tried to look at something they shouldn’t, or poke into business that wasn’t theirs. Trevor, Matt, and Kdin were also there, eyeing the three strangers warily. But, a heist was a heist, and they were just going to have to deal with these people in their personal space. For now.

So, for the time being, Gavin was content to sit at the front of the planning room, close to his fathers, but also unfortunately close to Jeremy. The Golden Boy could feel the man’s eagerness to watch him from _here_ , and it unnerved him to no end. He remained rigid in his chair, his eyes darting around behind the safety of his brand-new shades, and his hands creating a death-grip on the edge of the table.

“Alright, you fucks, listen closely.” Geoff was already at his wits’ end from just herding everyone into the room, and this discussion was going to push him closer to homicide than he was comfortable with. 

“First thing’s first. Michael and Jeremy,” The kingpin focused his gaze on the two Lads, remaining a touch longer on Jeremy. “You two will be in charge of blowing up the gas station across town from the bank. Call 911, get yourselves a couple of fire trucks and uniforms, and make it look like you’re working to put out the fire. If the cops start attacking you, return fire.” His gaze then turned to fix on the third guy, still unnamed to Gavin, “Ray. You will be stationed on the building across the street from the bank, sniping any cops that try to come inside.” The guy in the hoodie, now known to him as Ray, gave one short nod.

A small ounce of tension, hardly noticeable, slipped out of his gaze as he fixed upon his son, “Gavin, you’ll remain behind here, keeping us updated on the feeds from the security cameras in and around the bank. We will all be assigned ear pieces, and they are to remain connected _at all times_.” His then chilling blue eyes swept across the people in the room. “Jack and I are in charge of infiltration and retrieving the money. I will be on intimidation while Jack gets to the safe, hacking into it with Gavin’s help, and gets all of the money he can grab.” Geoff looked out over everyone, meeting each person’s eyes before finally nodding.

“Everyone will be taking care of their own getaway vehicles. The B-team’s already taken care of their shit by planning, god knows Geoff won’t do shit,” Jack spoke up, also looking around the room. 

Gavin struggled to hide a smug grin while Geoff made an indignant noise. He also glanced around the room, letting his eyes and mind take their time on the B-Team. The three were all so confident, so sure of themselves that this heist wouldn’t fail, _couldn’t_ fail, and they always were. They always worked together like a well-oiled machine, behind the scenes yet encompassing the entirety of the Fakes, really. Gavin slipped his glasses off and smiled widely at the three, and each of them practically beamed back at him, very much like the sun. They all knew they were ready for this.

“... Anyway,” Geoff plowed forward with only the slightest hesitation after a fake glare aimed at his husband, “everybody will gather on Chiliad, and we’ll drink to celebrate our obvious success.” 

Gavin thought this would be a good spot to exert one of his favorite parts of being the Golden Boy - unprecedented amounts of sass. “Are you serious?” He immediately took on a mocking tone, “no, Gavvers, we absolutely _don’t_ go get bevved on mount Chiliad. While you think we’re out there _faffing about_ , we’re _risking our asses_.” Gavin gave a huff of a laugh, dropping his act for a moment as he looked at Geoff and twirled his sunglasses around his finger. “I’m assuming I get to stay stuck here, then? Getting bevved alone?”

Michael cut in immediately, “Jeremy and I can come back, we can all drink together, boi.”

Gavin gave the redhead an incredulous look, muttering “boi” under his breath before shaking his head, “Yeah, sure,” he mumbled towards the two before gesturing for Geoff to continue. The older gent sighed dramatically, before sweeping over the team with a newfound spark in his eyes.

“All right, then. Now that all that shit’s has been settled... Let’s heist.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wooOOOOO FINALLY!!! Super hyped for the next few to come. - Sarah
> 
> check out our tumblrs: [Sarah](https://www.starryalpha.tumblr.com) and [Eliza](https://www.hillflirty.tumblr.com)


	3. Cannonball

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bullets go awry and words fly with them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We might have forgotten to post a chapter yesterday. OOPS -Eliza

The heist started out smoothly. Michael and Jeremy successfully blew up the gas station and got their hands on two fire trucks, Ray was in the perfect sniping position on the roof, and Jack and Geoff were having no trouble at all with taking out the bank’s security and getting through the not-really-heavily-guarded safe. As Gavin was watching things unfold, he was ecstatic that everything had gone off without a hitch, though he restrained his cheers of excitement, at least for the moment. The Gents escaped with the money, with help from Ray in shooting down the cops, and the three made it to their pre-determined getaway vehicles; Geoff and Jack took a sports car, and Ray took a shit-brown motorcycle as is what seemed to be his style. The former gas station where Michael and Jeremy currently were posing as firefighters were overrun by the police, serving their purpose as bait, but they were found out quickly and a shootout soon began. The two Lads insisted that the other three continued their drives to Chiliad, and they would be back at the penthouse as soon as possible.

The uniformed duo were surrounded by more police than they had originally anticipated. They weren’t discouraged by this, though, as they kept shooting down more and more officers. After the fighting continued for several long and seemingly unending moments, Jeremy ducked into his fire truck with a shout, having caught a few stray bullets, ranging from his right shoulder, through his abdomen, and ending with the extremely off-course bullet in his left foot.

“Jeremy?” Gavin spoke into his mic, “What happened? Are you alright?” 

A voice he assumed to be Jeremy’s only replied with a hiss, so Michael responded for him, “I think he just took a few shots - it might be serious. We need to get out of here.”

Geoff’s voice came in over the comms, “Fuck off from the gas station, then! Take one of the fire trucks and lose the cops, then take Jeremy back to the penthouse. Kdin can look after him.”

Michael nodded, quickly realizing he couldn’t be seen and giving an affirmative, “yes, sir” and speeding away from the penthouse, hoping to circle around the city, lose the cops, and head back to the penthouse. However, the fire truck was not as fast as Michael needed it to be. Michael pulled into an alley, shooting a man in an overly-expensive sports car before shoving Jeremy in the backseat and taking off again, this time at a speed he felt was useful. Before Michael realized it, they were finally free of the police and in front of the penthouse, Kdin rushing out to take half of Jeremy’s weight and rush them to the elevator.

“How long has it been since he was shot?” Kdin was already asking questions as soon as she had a grip on Jeremy, who seemed to be slipping in and out of consciousness.

“I’m sorry?” Questioned Michael, having been lost in his own adrenaline rush since he had lugged Jeremy into the sports car. 

The pink-haired girl raised an eyebrow at him, “I _said_ , how long has it been since Dooley got shot?” She said each word with an obvious exaggeration, a glaring jab at him, but he disregarded it in favor of responding.

“Oh, fuck, um - twenty minutes? Twenty five? One of those, yeah,” He said, struggling to retrace the entire police chase in his mind.

“Well, come on then, we can’t waste any more time. He’s lost a shit ton of blood already.” Kdin nodded towards the kitchen counter, forcing Michael to help her heave Jeremy up onto it. She then rushed to the bathroom, bringing out her first-aid kit and armfuls of towels, laying them around Jeremy to soak up as much blood as possible.

Gavin rushed in just as she was pulling out a bullet, immediately turning around before he began talking. “The others made it to Chiliad, no one else is injured. I was waiting to come out until I’d gotten word and I think I’m gonna go back now, considering Jeremy’s out cold and -” he was quickly cut off by Michael, who walked up to him and gently started pushing his shoulder, guiding him to sit down in the living room.

“Micool, wh- What the bloody hell are you doing?” He was trying so desperately to keep up his bravado, his steady calm, but the hint of surprise, and, though he would never admit it, a very, _very_ miniscule amount of fear, made itself known as he hesitantly followed the redhead. Michael sat him down on the couch, giving him a brisk but not unfriendly once-over before returning to Kdin, hoping to assist Jeremy in any way he could. Gavin stared after him as he re-entered the kitchen, thankful for the sunglasses he was still wearing for some reason as he pondered over the current situation. Why would Michael, who was basically a complete stranger, want to help _him_ out, whether he was the Golden Boy or not? He stared at the wall, flinching slightly when he heard a pained grunt from the kitchen. _So Jeremy’s not completely out, then._

After what seemed like hours had passed by, Gavin was called to the kitchen by Kdin, who gave him explicit instructions on how to take care of Jeremy.

“We can’t move him far, so taking him back to Michael’s is out of the question. He’ll need to stay here, and I trust you’ll be here the most,” she glanced sideways at Gavin, pointedly raising an eyebrow before gesturing for Michael to carefully pick Jeremy up. “It won’t be too hard, change his bandages, don’t let him get up or move to much, call me if anything happens.” Kdin was obviously flippant, waiting until Michael had left, taking Jeremy to one of the spare rooms, before putting a hand on Gavin’s shoulder and looking him in the eye. “I’m sure you can do it, Gav. You’ll be fine.” Kdin pulled an award winning smile before she leaned up and kissed Gavin softly on the forehead, patting his shoulder before walking away to gather her things again.

Gavin numbly nodded to himself, taking a deep breath before walking after Michael towards the spare rooms. He saw the first door slightly ajar, and tentatively knocked before stepping in, seeing Michael gently pulling the covers over Jeremy and running a hand through his hair.

“I’ll need to go back to our apartment,” he spoke, without looking up. “Ray can’t sleep alone, but you’ll be here with him, so it’s fine, yeah?” Gavin walked up beside him, giving a weak nod as Michael turned and placed his hands on Gavin’s shoulders, something surprisingly reminiscent of the gesture Kdin had made just minutes before. “Call me if you need anything, if either of you need anything. Ray or I will be here in a heartbeat.” Gavin just nodded again, putting on a fake smile he knew wouldn’t convince Michael, but Michael seemed to ignore it all the same, smiling back before walking around him and out the bedroom door. 

The teen went to stand by the entrance of the room, so as not to wake Jeremy as he re-connected his earpiece and gave Geoff, Jack, and Ray a run down on the current situation. As much as he despised being demoted to babysitter, the least he could do was let the other get his rest. Bullet wounds were definitely not something worth continuing being hostile over, that was for sure. Seeing as he had to keep an eye on him for the rest of the night, or, at the very least, until Geoff and Jack returned, he pulled the chair from his office into the room and sat next to the bed, working on his laptop while keeping an eye on Jeremy.

-  
Jeremy had woken up quite recently, and after Gavin checked if he needed anything, he went back to work on his laptop.

“So, what are you working on?” Was Jeremy’s first try at small talk, earning a grumbled, noncommittal response from Gavin before he was engrossed back in his work, eyes never leaving the screen. “Thank you for watching over me.”

“You’re welcome.” Gavin had finally looked up from his screen for the first time in hours, meeting Jeremy’s eyes and giving a curt nod, looking back down after their brief interaction. They weren’t best friends, but Jeremy felt this was a start. 

-

“Goal!” Jeremy yelled, waving his controller in Gavin’s face.

“Look, maybe 5 goals is just too few for a game! We should up it!” Gavin was on immediate verbal defense.

Jeremy was quick to retaliate, “look, if you’ve lost seven games in a row, it’s not the score’s fault anymore, Gav.” Jeremy laughed, trying to squirm away as Gavin tried to tickle his side, resulting in a coughing fit from Jeremy and quick apologies from Gavin. Gavin was thumping Jeremy’s back, holding a water for whenever he was ready to try and drink.

“Sorry, J. Forgot, s’all.” Gavin was still thumping his back, Jeremy simply nodded and leaned back on the couch, taking deep breaths and trying not to descend into coughing again.

“Let’s not,” the words caused Jeremy to cough again, much less than the fit before, but still extremely noticeable to an already anxious Gavin, “let’s not forget again, yeah, pal?” Gavin quickly nodded his head, exiting out of Rocket League before sitting awkwardly next to him, not exactly sure what to say next. Jeremy noticed that he kept his eyes focused on his lap and his hands latched tightly together. Sure, they may be on better terms now, but Gavin was still anxious and hesitant, not quite sure how to treat him, and Jeremy could honestly understand that, after taking the time to observe the Golden Boy. 

“Hey, Gav?” The green-haired man inquired, watching him, though not in the same way as he would watch him before.

“Huh?” Gavin seemed to snap out of his thoughts, his head jerking up to return Jeremy’s look.

“If you don’t mind me asking… Well, how the _hell_ did you manage to get yourself here, anyway? You have an obvious mask to the public, and an overbearing amount of trust issues. I can’t piece together how you fit yourself into this life as easily as you do.”

Jeremy watched as the other’s eyes grew wide, and he glanced around the room before deciding to stare at the blank TV screen. 

“... Well, I guess I can tell you a little bit, but… I’d prefer if you kept this a secret. Not a lot of people really know this, yeah?” Gavin was reluctant to tear his walls down all at once, but he did let a small amount of anxiety slip through the cracks. He received a nod with a serious “of course,” before he took a deep breath, and barrelled through it.

“Jack and Geoff - they found me when I was really little. Took me in, raised me, and…” He seemed to visibly flinch, but decided not to explain anything about _that_ quite yet. “... and made me who I am today. I can’t thank them enough for the life they’ve given me, the years of happiness they’ve graced me with. It might seem like I only stay here to repay a debt to them, but that’s not it, not at all. It’s just… We’re family, you know? If you had the choice to stay with them you would, no matter what. I was raised in the crew, and it runs through my blood, so here I stay.” He seemed to tense, thinking he may have run on too long or said too much, but Jeremy slowly, so as not to scare him, placed a gentle hand on the teen’s shoulder. Gavin still jumped a little bit, his eyes darting to look at Jeremy, and he smiled a little as his warm brown eyes met the nervous but still quite radiant green of Gavin’s.

“Yeah, I know exactly what you mean,” Jeremy nodded slightly, gently rubbing Gavin’s shoulder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> check out our tumblrs: [Sarah](https://www.starryalpha.tumblr.com) and [Eliza](https://www.hillflirty.tumblr.com)


	4. Hammer & Tongs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A glimpse into the past, as well as a glimpse to the future. Sadness (and some fluff) ensues.

_His eyes creaked open, and his blurry gaze was, unfortunately, slowly beginning to clear as he glanced around at his now-familiar surroundings. Nothing had changed, of course not; he had lost track of time several weeks ago, but he_ did _know that it had been too long. The dripping water that seemed to constantly surround him and the sickening smell of his own drying blood was a dismal reminder of the current situation. They had to have gotten to Gavin and the rest by now, and they were all_ dead _. There was no hope; and, now, he was forced to live with the knowledge that he was the only one left. Why hadn’t they just killed him? They hadn’t gotten anything out of him, yet… and he would make sure they never would, even if it meant his own death. After all, he would really just be joining his family, something he desperately wants to do._

_Jack was nearly certain he only had a few nails left. He was unable to open his right eye, and doubted if he would ever be able to see out of it again. He blearily looked around, stretching his neck to see the table of tools sitting precariously close to him. He stretched his head, shoulder popping out of place once again as he pulled on the raised chains holding him, aiming to grab anything with his teeth, praying to be able to pick the locks holding him._

_A familiar voice tisked at Jack, harshly grabbing his chin and forcing him to lock the other way. “Now, Jack, it’s rude to spoil the fun, don’t you think?” A crude grin spread across his face. “But, you did seem rather interested in Gavin here, you know, I’ve seen your Golden Boy, Jack. He’s quite a beauty. This could do wonders to the both of you.” The man turned from the table, sliding the dull edge of a carving knife down Jack’s cheek. “I’d have to get my hands on him first, of course,” the man continued, gently turning the knife to knick Jack’s cheek. “That should be simple, though, with you and your_ husband _out of the way.”_

_Jack harshly turned his face, “Just get it over with. This game’s gone on for long enough.” He tilted his head, looking the man in the eye. “If you’re not a coward, as you seem so obsessed with pointing out, then why don’t you just kill me? It would be easy enough, wouldn’t it?” He snarled, narrowing his one functional eye. As he felt Gavin grace his skin with its presence once more, Jack gratefully slipped back into unconsciousness._

-

_The next time he woke, he felt a crushing sensation all around him. He opened his eyes, surprised that his right one_ was _in fact still working. Was this a dream? It wasn’t a very good one, if it was. Blinking was futile as he realized he was underwater -_ that must be causing the crushing feeling _, he thought. He felt the oxygen he’d never had fleeing his lungs, and his frantic struggles for air were rapidly diminishing in number as well as in frequency. Before too long, and after a faint struggle, he slipped away once again. And again, and again, and_ again. __

 _There was dirt beneath him when his eyes opened for the fifth time. What a strange afterlife - was he finally dead? If he was, then where were Geoff and Gavin? Even if he knew they were all probably going to hell, he thought they would all go through it together. But his surroundings looked strangely like one of the valleys just outside Los Santos. There was undoubtedly dry and brittle grass beneath him, as well as the sheer_ dryness _that was the pure heat of a San Andreas summer._ How? … Why? _As he was silently musing to himself, he heard the faint rumble of a vehicle approaching him. That roar was startlingly familiar - it was definitely one of the Fakes’ vehicles. His eyes soon closed once more at the sight of a red-coated figure and a smaller figure he knew to be Matt and Kdin running towards him._

-

Jack jumped up with a sharp intake of breath, clutching at his chest, a shout on his lips. He found it hard to breathe in that moment, as every memory of before, _every single one of them_ , came rushing back to him in the instant as he properly woke up. He felt himself start to tremble, and he screwed his eyes shut as he tried to keep all of his terrified noises _inside_ , to not be heard; he didn’t want to wake Geoff or Gav, since they really deserved all the sleep they could get.

In the midst of his struggle to keep silent, Gavin woke up with a small noise, creaking one eye open to see what was causing the bed to shake. Both of his eyes flew open as he saw Jack clutching his arms around himself and pushed himself up, inching closer to his father and wrapping his arms around the larger man. Jack nearly jumped off of the bed at the sudden arms around him, but when he turned his head and saw his son next to him, his creased frown turned into a watery smile as he found himself picking Gavin up and placing the teen on his lap. He heard the stifled squawk at the sudden change of position, but soon felt scrawny arms wrap themselves around Jack’s own, and the two of them just sat silently, listening to each other’s heartbeats and Geoff’s faint snores next to them.

Gavin continually squirmed, never comfortable for more than a few seconds while idle, and Geoff was quick to reach a hand out and grab him, glaring at him to stop moving through one open eye, before his gaze slipped to Jack and immediately softened at seeing the look on his face.

“What’s wrong?” Geoff asked, scooting up to lean against the headboard beside Jack. 

“Nightmares about when I was missing. All that time I was gone, terrible things happened, they haunt me. He killed Geoff, but what he did to me was so much _worse_. I was tortured, for weeks on end, and it seemed unending. Every time I would wake up he was back, waiting for me. I found I was immortal by waking up at the bottom of a lake. I don’t know if an eternity is enough to heal from something like that, Geoff. I don’t know if I’ll ever not be scarred from it.” Jack looked to his side, catching Geoff’s downcast eyes.

Jack felt Gavin's slender arms tighten slightly as the teen rested his head against his chest, and Geoff’s own tattooed arms soon found themselves around his family as he dropped several kisses around his husband's face. 

“Maybe not, but… I hope you know that we'll always be here. You'll never be alone, as long as we're around.” 

“As long as we're around? Geoff, we're bloody _immortal_.” Gavin’s snarky reply elicited a “shut the fuck up, dumbass,” from Geoff, as well as a soft laugh from Jack. Unable to help himself, tears started to fall from his eyes - he had no idea what he'd do without his boys. He returned Geoff’s kisses while also leaning down to press a few more against their giggling boy's head.

After Gavin was through with his laughing fit at his own sass, he glanced up to look at Jack - the elder was still, to this day, struck by the sheer depth of those emerald green eyes, even in the dark. “So… I guess this means we're both afraid of water, huh?”

“Yeah… I guess so, kiddo.”

-

This heist was not for money, in the least. It was truly derived from Jeremy getting overly antsy from sitting around the penthouse, and Michael always being willing to cause mass havoc. Jeremy had the _brilliant_ idea to hold up Ammu-Nation, “we can grab cash _and_ ammo, Geoff, it’ll be amazing.” Jeremy and Michael were the only two who truly wanted to heist, but Geoff made the others tag along anyways, quoting “safety in numbers” before shoving them all out of the penthouse.

Jeremy did not fully think through his plan, however, and it slipped passed him that Ammu-Nation has ammo because they sell guns and ammo, and the second he pulled a gun out to threaten the cashier, there was one pointed at every crew member in the building with him.

“Well, fuck.” Michael eloquently expressed as shots began to ring out. Jeremy and Michael were quick to get out of the way, Ray already out the doors as soon as Jeremy pulled his gun. Jack, however, was not so lucky. He was filled with bullets, dripping blood, gasping for breath as a punctured lung stole the air from him. The two lads managed a retreat, hauling Jack back to the van they had arrived in, jokingly complaining about blood stains being a bitch as Gavin saw his father and began hyperventilating.

“Jeremy, take the wheel.” Trevor called from the front seat, climbing into the back to shield Gavin from seeing Jack, holding him close and gently rocking him as his hands grasped for purchase, knuckles turning white on Trevor’s shirt. Jeremy sped back to the penthouse, arriving just as Jack took in a shuddering breath through his mouth and groaning, rolling onto his side and spitting up a mouthful of blood.

Geoff rushed out to meet the van as Trevor climbed out, holding a shaky Gavin, with Michael and Ray shouldering a still-recovering Jack behind them.

-

The news covered Jack Pattillo’s death for _weeks_. They proclaimed the “end of the Fakes” as one of their fathers died, the police boasting about the fall of the gang despite their complete uninvolvement in the entire situation. However, the news _also_ covered the rising conspiracy theories about Jack Pattillo’s resurrection for _months_. 

The Fakes revelled in the attention, watching the wild stories and ideas flood in from every source, laughing as they got worse and worse. One day, weeks after the ordeal began, a sharp knock came on the penthouse door, stirring the entire crew from their companionable laziness. Geoff answered the door, one hand firmly grasping the pistol in his belt. As soon as the door was open, he stiffened, and the rest of the Crew in the room seemed to freeze as well, as they saw who exactly was at their door.

“I think I belong here.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> check out our tumblrs: [Sarah](https://www.starryalpha.tumblr.com) and [Eliza](https://www.hillflirty.tumblr.com)


	5. Wheels of the Machine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Introducing the newest member of the Fakes - Gavin doesn't like him very much.

_“I think I belong here.”_

Ryan was one… interesting character. When asked to elaborate on what he meant, he promptly pulled out a pistol and shot it through his own hand, causing Gavin to squawk in the background, “what the bloody hell?” Ryan waited several moments before the bullet began to come out, grabbing it and gently dropping it at Geoff’s feet, looking at him expectedly from behind a black skull mask.

Geoff simply nodded and kneeled down to pick up the bullet. “Do you have anything with you?” Geoff was immediately protective, another under his wing, and looked up from the bullet to see Ryan tilt his head, continuing to simply look at Geoff through the mask. Geoff matched Ryan’s stare, tentatively reaching up to tug the bottom of the blood-stained mask, asking for permission to remove it. When Ryan didn’t react, Geoff continued, gingerly pulling it off before placing it in Ryan’s hands, glancing curiously at Ryan’s abundant face paint. “Hey, Ray?”

A quiet “yo,” was his only response, turning to see Ray put his DS down on the coffee table and lean forward. “You still got all that frilly bath stuff?”

Ray glanced between Geoff and Ryan for a moment, mumbling “fucking right I do,” before standing up and taking Ryan by the hand not holding his mask, leading him back to the master bathroom to wash his face. When the duo came back, Ray sat Ryan down in an arm chair before going back to being curled up beside Gavin on the couch. 

Michael slid to the floor, scooting over to sit at Ryan’s feet and stare up at him, narrowing his eyes and tilting his head. “So, who the fuck are you?” Geoff hisses a warning at him, since they didn’t know how this man worked, or how he would react to being questioned. Michael sent his own glance back at his boss before looking back up at Ryan.

“Ryan. I used to be known as the Vagabond, countless years ago. Now I am… here to build friendships. I have been alone for… way too long, now. It’s terrible to be attached to someone who you will outlive, whose descendants you will outlive.” Ryan looked at Michael the entire time he talked, jumping a little when Gavin made a small noise from his left before scooting Ray off of him and leaving the room.

“... Is he alright?” Ryan inquired, watching the teen as he entered one of the rooms farther down the hall and shut the door.

“He’s… been through a lot of loss, Ryan. It’s messed him up pretty badly, and I think what you said hit pretty close to home,” Geoff replied, also looking down the hallway, though Ryan didn’t miss the spark of… was that _guilt_? in his eyes.

-

Ryan tried to approach Gavin multiple times within the next few days, trying to mend a broken and completely unformed introduction and relationship. Gavin continually ignored him, avoiding him to the extent that Ryan felt he’d done something else wrong, past their initial meeting. Ryan decided to ask Geoff one day if he knew what Ryan could do to resolve this, Ryan didn’t want any hostility, and he just wanted to mesh into the family, to simply have things as they were before, plus Ryan, of course.

"I don't know, buddy. I truly don't." Geoff placed a hand on Ryan’s shoulder, rubbing a comforting thumb before smiling gently at him before leaving the room. Geoff continued on to sit in his office, contemplating the changes in Gavin recently. _God, this was all so much easier when he was little_. Geoff raked a hand through his hair, laying his head down on the desk and groaning loudly. Gavin had been so much easier to handle when he was younger, since he had said what he had wanted, and had demanded what he’d needed, but now he was older and had learned about _social cues_ , and expected everybody around him to know exactly what he wanted. What was he going to do? He couldn’t just _force_ Gavin to get along with Ryan; that would cause more problems than it would solve, in the end. The kingpin had understood his fear before, with the Lads, since the wounds were so much fresher, and, in his defence, they had given off an unsettling vibe. But now, with Ryan? The poor man had done nothing to really hurt the kid. This situation was getting out of hand… but there really was nothing he could do about it.

-

Nothing he could do about it, bullshit. This was his home, his goddamn family, and he could intervene if he so chose to. He did choose not to, however, and instead asked Michael to intervene for him. Michael readily accepted, ready to ease the tension that has permeated the entire penthouse since Ryan’s arrival. He grabbed better-at-words-Ray and cuddle-comfort-monster Jeremy with him, hoping the three of them wouldn’t make Gavin feel too cornered. They slipped into his room moments after Gavin entered, Michael entering last and and leaning against the door to keep Gavin from running. 

“You need to learn to be a kid again.” Michael stared dead into Gavin’s eyes, raising an eyebrow and challenging him to deny it.

“What he means, is,” Ray stepped in, standing just in front of Gavin and laying a gentle hand on his shoulder, “we need to have a.. Talk. Geoff says that when you were little, you were more blunt, able to ask for everything. It would have prevented this dance we’re all having to do around the penthouse, and it’ll keep us all a bit more sane.”

Gavin nodded without a word, following Jeremy to sit on the floor, tugging Ray’s hand until he sat with them. Ray began explaining ways for Gavin to talk openly, to not be scared of the crew. Gavin laid down, gently resting his head on Jeremy’s lap and encouraging him with nudges to card his hand through his hair.

“See, Gav, you can just ask. Everyone here would do anything for you, you know that? Just ask and we'll cuddle you, we will never say no. We'll never leave because you think you ask too much." Jeremy used his nails slightly, scratching Gavin’s scalp as he felt the other relax against him and hum in agreement.

“We're here 'till the end, Vav, 'till we're fucking one with the void." Ray chimed in, gently bumping Gavin’s nose with a knuckle. Michael left after nearly an hour of them conversing, and the next day woke up to find the three of them curled up on the floor together, sound asleep. 

Gavin approached Ryan that same day, tugging on his sleeve before asking to speak to him in the kitchen, leaving the rest of the crew, rather shocked, in the living room.

“I’d like to… like to,” Gavin’s voice shrank into a mumble, “apologize. Yes! Apologize for being… being a right mong. Yep,” he forced out, and avoiding looking at Ryan. Instead, he kept his gaze firmly on the floor, scuffing the toes of his outrageously expensive shoes on the tile flooring.

Though he couldn’t see it, Ryan’s confused frown morphed into the biggest grin, and he stepped forward to wrap his arms around the younger man. This was around the time that he remembered how skittish Gavin was in general. He watched, almost in slow motion, as Gavin stiffened, and he quickly moved away as time sped up once more. 

“Shit, oh man, god, I’m sorry, right, too soon,” Ryan murmured, a layer of worry lacing his voice. He hesitantly reached a hand, placing it on Gavin’s shoulder in a distant sort of affection before they both departed, Gavin back to his room and Ryan back to the lounge.

In the following couple of weeks, Gavin slowly got better at asking for things. He sometimes has to text and ask, the fear of rejection settling low in his stomach and tying the words in his throat. He was able to express his wants, though, asking for someone to hug him or for Geoff to drop a topic. He was also slowly beginning to feel how Ryan fit into place with the others, how they all bounced off of each other and how their family now felt complete in a way it hadn’t before. Geoff, seeing these recent developments, decides it’s time for Ryan’s first heist with the Crew. 

-

“Geoff… what the actual _fuck_. Do you actually _think_ that Ryan knows Gavin enough to deal with him during a heist? Are you fucking kidding me?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> iiiiiiiiit's RYAN! - Sarah
> 
> check out our tumblrs: [Sarah](https://www.starryalpha.tumblr.com) and [Eliza](https://www.hillflirty.tumblr.com)


	6. Roaring Waters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another heist... and some familial bonding for good measure.

This time, the heist had gone as planned, thank _God_. There were a lot more cops than they had expected, but it was nothing the Fakes couldn’t handle. Ryan and Gavin were just a little bit late, but still on course to get into their getaway vehicle, a speed boat, and head to the location for Geoff and Jack to pick them up in the biplane they were going to steal. The rest of the Lads were all situated in a Kuruma, and were supposed to speed their way to the safehouse. Ryan and Gavin eventually made it to their boat, and sped off, out of the range of the six police cars following them. It was then that they remembered they were also being chased by several police choppers. Gavin held onto Ryan’s jacket for dear life, especially when he heard the helicopters start shooting rockets at them. This wasn’t good at _all_. 

“Ryan, Gavin, stay on course, we’ll be there in a moment,” Jack’s voice sounded from his earpiece, making Gavin calm down just a small bit at the sound of his father’s voice. He hoped that they’d be away from all of this water soon enough. The vast expanses of blue surrounding the small craft was starting to make him rather uncomfortable; the splashes coming from the boat’s bouncing didn’t have a very positive effect him either.

“Sure, Jack. We’re about ten minutes away from the rendezvous point, we’ll hopefully have lost the cops by then.” Ryan reported, focusing straight ahead of them as Gavin struggled to keep an eye on their pursuers and hang onto Ryan at the same time. His heart dropped when he saw one of the missiles heading _right towards them_. 

“Ryan, _move_ , one of them’s coming right bloody towards us!” Gavin yelled, his eyes fixed on the projectile approaching them. There was a grunt from Ryan as the boat suddenly steered to the left, and Gavin nearly lost his footing right there. Turning his head away from the projectile coming at them, he managed to grind out, “Hey, Ryan… I’m afraid of the water...” Before the elder could respond with some jab or tease the lad, the missile landed in the water directly next to them and detonated.

-

The next thing he knew, Gavin was in the water, with his arms wound tightly around Ryan and his face buried in the man’s neck. Thankfully, Ryan hadn’t let him go, and instead held him close, trying to keep at least his head out of the water. After a few moments, his ears stopped ringing from the explosion, and Gavin began to hear the other members of his Crew, yelling into the still functional earpiece, desperately trying to get their attention, and Gavin managed a soft “damn it.” before deciding to focus all of his energy on hanging onto Ryan. Gavin was desperately clinging, trying to bury his face in Ryan’s shoulder and getting a face full of water instead. He emerged sputtering, coughing out the minute amount he swallowed while Ryan gently thumped him on the back.

“Just a few more moments, just hang on,” Ryan whispered, talking directly into Gavin’s ear to try and drown out the sound of the ocean around them. “Jack will be here soon, Geoff will be with him, not much longer.” Gavin was trembling, clutching the front of Ryan’s jacket in a white knuckled grip, trying to take deep breaths that ultimately came out much too fast. Gavin tensed before slightly relaxing at the, for once, relieving roar of a plane approaching, watching as it came in low over the water and Jack carefully pulled him in, placing him solidly on the floor before turning around to pull Ryan in as well. The second Jack turned back into the plane, Gavin was grabbing at him, immediately trying to get as much physical contact between the two as possible. Gavin needing something to ground him, something to prove he wasn’t still in the fucking _ocean_ , about to _die_. Jack responded by wrapping his arms around the trembling teen, ignoring how soaking wet and cold to the bone he was, and held him as closely as he could. Ryan watched as the lad’s usually sandy hair - now more of a dark brown because of its soaking - nearly vanished in the grasp of his father, as Jack covered every inch of his boy’s head in loving kisses and small murmurs, reassuring the both of them that he was safe, he wasn’t in the water anymore, and he’d be dry soon. When Gavin’s eyes peeked over Jack’s shoulder, they met with Ryan’s worried blue ones, and Ryan just managed to catch the teen’s minute smile and a mouthed “thank you” before he was back to hiding behind his father. 

Soon after the plane landed, Geoff hopped out of the driver’s seat and proceeded to join his family, beginning his own round of covering Gavin in soft kisses and worried caresses, and once he assured himself that the only thing wrong with Gavin was his shivering, he turned towards Ryan, scooting closer to him and smiling.

“Everything okay? We focused on Gav because he’s deathly afraid, you know, but you’re important to us too.” Geoff spoke quietly, gently running a hand through Ryan’s drying hair. Ryan simply nodded, offering to go grab Gavin some dry clothes. Geoff shook his head before standing up, picking Gavin up, his legs going around the man’s waist and his head buried in his shoulder, before motioning for the other two to follow him inside the safehouse. Geoff deposited Gavin on the floor in the bathroom, Jack going to grab him clothes while Geoff threw an abundance of towels on top of him.

“Shower first, if you can stand it, you smell like fish piss and the fucking ocean.” Geoff said, motioning to the tub before leaving with Jack, who had left clothes with him. Ryan was in the room still, watching as Gavin vaguely gagged at the thought of fish pissing before slowly moving towards the shower.

“Should I leave?” Ryan’s deep voice was a shock to Gavin, having thought he was now alone.

Gavin simply shook his head, “No... no. I don’t think I could be alone right now. Could you… could you maybe sit facing the door? Talk to me while I’m in the shower?” Ryan nodded, sitting cross-legged on the floor with his entire body turned towards the door. Ryan began telling Gavin stories of ages long past, times when Ryan may or may not have been alive, but everyone was too scared to ask. Ryan spoke of Rome, the great Catherine, the eighth tsar of Russia, he spoke of many things. Gavin only listened, focusing on Ryan’s voice as he ignored the water rushing over him.

As he wrapped up his shower and climbed out, he towelled himself off and got dressed, thankful that Jack had brought his sweats. He didn’t think he could stand his usual fancy silk, not after the exhausting events of the day. Ryan waited patiently for Gavin’s affirmative to stand up, knowing that he really shouldn’t make any sudden movements to further freak out the younger. Before long, there was the sound of footsteps on the tile and a hand over his shoulder. After Ryan stood and turned to face the lad, he found Gavin rushing to hug him, pressing his head into the other’s chest.

“So, um..” Gavin murmured into his t-shirt, a bit muffled, but still audible. “I know I kinda said it back on the plane, but I didn’t really say anything... Thank you for… for helping me out, back there. I don’t think I would have made it without your damn mug.” Ryan’s arms wrapped around him immediately after he spoke, and Gavin felt a soft pressure at the top of his head, and heard a muffled “of course. I’ll always be here for you.” They continued standing this way for what seemed like hours, before they parted, and with Ryan’s hand on his back, the two headed out of the bathroom.

When Jack and Geoff entered the living room about an hour and a half later, they were shocked to find the two sleeping on the couch. Though it was really more like Gavin sleeping on Ryan, who was in turn dozing on the worn cushions. The couple turned to look at each other, each of their eyes wide, and turned back to watch Gavin’s now dry hair gently waving from each of Ryan’s languid breaths. So the other man was _definitely_ asleep, and not actually laying down with his eyes closed.

“Have you ever seen him sleep before?” Geoff murmured, and Jack shook his head. He moved forward and pulled Gavin’s blanket up, having been pushed off at some point, and gently patted both Ryan and Gavin’s heads, earning him a soft, sleepy noise from the lad and a grunt from Ryan. After he and Geoff studied them for a few more moments, they moved back and quietly left the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> check out our tumblrs: [Sarah](https://www.starryalpha.tumblr.com) and [Eliza](https://www.hillflirty.tumblr.com)


	7. Out of My Hands

“Jack, Geoff, what the _fuck_ is this?”

Jeremy slammed a book down on the coffee table, raising his eyes and looking expectantly at the two on the couch. The couple jumped up, and as Jack’s eyes met with the object, he quickly picked it up and started eagerly looking through it.

“It’s a scrapbook I tried to make _years_ ago, I thought we’d lost it! It’s full of pictures from when we first adopted Gavin.”

The younger man’s look went from frustration to being positively intrigued. Jeremy instantly perked up, wriggling himself in between Geoff and Jack on the couch. “Continue.”

Jack put on a loving grin, opening the book and quickly flipping through pages. “Well, some of this stuff’s just the standard. Gavin crying in the bath, Gavin crying in a helicopter, Gavin crying on the roof of the penthouse. Normal baby things.” Jeremy struggled to hold back a laugh, instead donning a wide grin as he studied the photos in the book.

Jeremy reached in front of Jack, pointing at a picture of Gavin walking towards Geoff, arms spread wide as he was mid-fall. “What about this one?”

“Don’t go around showing personal things, you mong!” Gavin suddenly reached over the back of the couch, grabbing the scrapbook out of his father’s grip and hugging it against his chest.

Jeremy threw a playful pout over his shoulder, “but Gav, you’re so cute and little! I didn’t know you were _actually_ small and innocent at one point, I thought you were just _born_ a gaudy pain in the ass.”

Geoff snorted out a laugh, “Oh, he was definitely a pain in the ass when he was little, too.” Gavin swatted at the elder with the scrapbook in retaliation to the comment, and Geoff laughed harder as he grabbed the scrapbook that was still in the lad’s grip and used it to pull Gavin over the back of the couch into his lap. He was met with an indignant squawk and overall weak protests as Geoff quickly snatched the book out of his hands and passed it over to Jack. With freedom being granted to his other hand, he could now wrap both of his arms around his son, pinning him in place with a firm grip and a chin on his shoulder.

“So, how did Gavin end up here, anyways?” Jeremy was shocked when his inquiry was met by the sudden silence of the other three. Fleeting glances were passed among the trio, minute head movements in a wordless conversation. “Sorry, don’t answer that, stupid question.” Jeremy backpedaled.

“No, no, I think you should know.” Gavin’s voice had an uncharacteristic calm to it, a purposeful unattachment to the situation.

Geoff and Jack both shared a look, then they both looked at Gavin, watching him carefully. He seemed to be serious about this, and they decided to allow it, in the end. After all, Jeremy _was_ family, and if Gavin thought he should know, then it was fine with them. The younger took a deep breath, and fixed his younger brother with a serious look.

“Geoff and Jack found me when I was very little, in a dark alley, at night, surrounded by twelve different cats. I was the cat whisperer, a cat god. I guess I was an orphan? We never really found out. I’m just glad I didn't die, y'know, or I bloody well wouldn’t be here.”  
  
Jeremy had to hold back an outburst of laughter at the explanation. Jack and Geoff immediately fixed each other with stern glares.

“You didn’t tell him?!” Geoff murmured furiously.

“Don’t put this on me! _You_ were supposed to tell him!” Jack returned with hiss.  
  
“Tell me what? Geoff?... Jack?” Gavin turned to look between the two of them, his confidence quickly replaced by confusion. “You mean… I’m _not_ the cat whisperer? Are you fucking serious? Did you exaggerate? Geoff, give it to me straight, how many cats were there?”

Geoff couldn’t hold the sharp emerald gaze of his son, turning to focus instead on the mahogany coffee table, “... None, Gav. there were no cats.”

There was a sharp intake of breath from the lad, a hand raised to his chest. “ _None_?! Really?” his father solemnly shook his head.

“None. You weren’t even found in an alley.” Jack’s look of annoyance changed to a concerned frown as he put a hand on Geoff’s shoulder.

Gavin could only stare at his father, more in shock and disbelief than anger. The playful tone of the room had turned solemn, a quick shift that only left Jeremy more confused. He did, however, instantly perked up at this sudden change of events, wriggling further in between Geoff and Jack on the couch.

“Tell me more.” Geoff’s mouth quirked at the lad’s statement, moving one hand to ruffle his bright green head. Wrapping his arms back around Gavin, to anchor himself and keep Gavin from suddenly fleeing, he barrelled forward in his impromptu story.

“Truth be told, I was heisting at some rich asshole’s house with the B-Team one stormy afternoon, while Jack was on a solo mission a couple hours away. The goal was to steal some jewels from the guy’s safe and turn them for profit. The crew was just starting to expand to bigger jobs at this point, but we needed extra funds to pay for our latest grand heist - and this job would provide enough profit to cover it.” He took a shaky breath before continuing. Gavin was locked in his arms, his eyes still focused on Geoff’s own.

“When we broke in, the first thing I remember hearing was this _wail._ ” Geoff tried but failed to hold back a shudder as he remembered the horrible noise. “It was the worst thing I’d ever heard in my entire life. I sent Matt and Kdin off to get the jewels, and Trevor and I went to investigate the noise. We ended up climbing five stories in this shitty, gaudy mansion. In a spare bedroom we found a little Gavvy, locked outside on the terrace and soaked to the bone from the freezing rain. You were shivering and crying, once we finally managed to get you to trust us enough to touch you, you were so _cold_ , Gav. I don’t think a human alive has ever been that cold. We were terrified, Trevor and I, and we left the mansion as fast as we could, driving home and trying to warm you up, to get you to stop crying. As soon as we got back here, we wrapped you up in like three fluffy blankets and just tried to dry you off, hoping we weren’t too late. Thank God, we weren’t.” Geoff finished this story by clutching the stiff boy closer to him. “We should’ve told you sooner, we _planned_ to tell you sooner. I’m so, _so_ sorry, Gav.”

The boy in his arms started to shake, just a little bit, and Geoff pressed a soft kiss into the top of his head and held him closer. Jeremy watched silently, at a loss for words, and Jack placed a gentle hand on his husband’s shoulder.

“Shh, shhh, it’s alright, Gavvy. It’s okay,” Geoff murmured into his hair. “Hey, you wanna know something else? Afterwards, when you were settled in, Matt and Kdin returned in a fancy Mustang. The asshole had apparently returned early, and Matt shot him in the knee before they stole his car and left with all of the jewels, _and_ this one _terrible_ painting, for good measure.” This earned him a soft huff from Gavin, and Geoff smiled a little bit.

“I need some time.” Gavin murmured, gently untangling himself from Geoff and placing a kiss on all three of their heads. “I’ll be fine, just... give me a bit, please?” After a reassuring nod from the others, he hurried to his room. In the silence they heard the immediate turn of his door’s lock.

Geoff looked determinedly upset, trying to hide it but failing miserably. “It’s my fault. I should have made sure I told him sooner.” Jack rubbed Geoff’s shoulder in loving reassurance. “I feel terrible,” Geoff buried his face in his hands, shoulders slumping and leaning into Jeremy.

"You kinda should, man, this is all absolutely your fault." Jeremy chimed in, earning a persistent push off the couch to the floor by Jack. Jeremy just sat on the floor, gently lying his head on Geoff’s knees in a form of comfort. “It’s okay, Geoff. He’ll be fine. You know him, he springs back from everything.” Geoff just nodded, running a hand through Jeremy’s hair and leaning heavily on Jack for comfort.

They sat there for what felt like hours, Jeremy dozing off while Geoff and Jack talked in hushed tones to not disturb him, before Gavin came out of his room. Gavin sat down next to Jeremy, focusing on messing up his hair instead of looking in his fathers’ eyes. The couple quieted down, focusing on watching the two. Gavin continued avoiding their glances as he finally spoke after several moments of silence. His voice was faint, and a note of hesitance and worry tinted his trembling voice.

“I want to find my mother.”


	8. Grief Hammer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How did Geoff find Gavin?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoops, sorry for taking so long. School is kinda punishing the both of us lmaoooo  
> Also, Eliza wrote the entirety of this chapter, I just beta'd it  
> The final chapter will go up this Friday! Sorry again for the long wait! - Sarah

_ The young woman chased after her son, gaining ground at a rapid pace before purposefully falling back. She followed him through corridors and grand staircases, hiding behind a corner once when she saw him slip on the marble in the grand foyer while he got up and dusted himself off before launching into action again, and she was alight in a matching glee to her son. There were footprints throughout the entire house, a waiting until his mother passed him while he hid in a tree before climbing down and running the other way behind her. She made a huff of indignation, laughing as she took off after him once again. _

- ****  
** **

Gavin was, once again, numb. It was the painful slide of ice against his heart, the burning longing that settled in his soul, the quiet resignation written into his very bones. He sat on his knees, body at an awkward angle as the weight caused his knees to slide down through the mud, and his slender hand gently caressed an old, dirty headstone. ****  
** **

"You were the only thing that was good to me, before." He choked out, a whisper so quiet that even the wind couldn't hear him, scared any admission of pain would irrevocably tie him to a woman long dead. He used his nails to gently clean out the grooves where her name was still clearly engraved into the cold grey space. _Ava Beckett._ He gently ran his fingers over the writing, wistfully thinking back to times past, times he wished he had more memory of, more _anything_ of. ** **  
****

- ****  
** **

" _ Gavin held his breath as she walked past his hiding spot, curling himself tighter and scooting just that much closer to the back wall.  _ ****  
** **

_"_ _ Gavvy, oh  _ Gavvy _ , oh where are you?" She called, gently padding through the room before heading back through the door, into the hall. Gavin huffed out a laugh, gasping as his mother immediately pulled open the closet doors, swooping him up in her arms and spinning them around. Gavin squealed in joy, clinging to his mother as she cradled him in her arms, walking towards the kitchen to get some food for the both of them. _ ****  
** **

- ****  
** **

Gavin smiled sadly down at the grave, pulling a small velvet box from the front pocket of his shirt. He had visited the grave nearly every day for months now, leaving gifts and tokens, things he would have spoiled her with in life if he were able to. Hundreds of thousands of dollars spent on lavish jewelry, beautiful flowers, customized trinkets of anything and everything. He had barely known her, and he clutched the memories he did have of her to his heart, keeping her voice in his heart and her smile behind his eyes. In the dark house he spent three years in, his mother was the sun of his life for all of them.  ****  
** **

- ****  
** **

_"_ _ Gav, I need you to go hide, like when we play hide and seek, okay? I'm gonna count real high, so I need you to hide super well." His mother's face was flushed, out of breath and her clothes were stained. She smoothed down her son's hair, while neglecting her own tangled mess, before kissing him on the forehead and making a show of covering her eyes and starting to count. Gavin sprinted out of the room, immediately heading up stairs to open doors slightly ajar and minorly change things that were always static, using his mother's "fool-proof-hiding-method". He hurried and rushed into his tutoring room, carefully opening the door to the small balcony while pulling the curtains close and slipping out. His eyes opened as he heard the lock click behind him, but his mother was the best at finding him, he had no need to worry.  _ ****  
** **

_ He heard the tell-tale echo of a gunshot, a scream echoing throughout the house for only seconds before being obviously muffled. Gavin huddled down, scooting himself into the corner of the balcony so he couldn't be seen through the door, pulling his knees up and pressing his face into them. _ ****  
** **

- ****  
** **

Gavin sniffled at the memory. Pieces connected in his mind as he gazed lovingly at her engraved name, the closest he'd have to her ever again. She had trained him so well. Constantly playing hide and seek, and  _ teaching _ him how to hide. She  _ knew _ this would happen. She spent three years protecting him and training him to one day be able to protect himself. He cried harder now than he had since he found out about her death, she loved him so much, she did everything for him, and he couldn't have even been there when she passed. ****  
** **

- ****  
** **

_ He sat terrified, perfectly still despite the chills that racked through his body. He muffled a gasp against his drawn up knees when he heard voices and the obvious noises of destruction inside the room he was locked out of. Once the noises died down, he finally found himself able to move as he frantically scrubbed away tears. He laid down on his side, pulling his knees up and hugging himself, before drifting off into a fitful sleep. _ ****  
** **

_ He woke to the crunching gravel in the driveway below. Dark vehicles were approaching quickly, barely stopping before four men were piling out and sneaking closer to the house. Gavin felt a quick spark of fear in his chest. Men in dark clothes were never a happy thing, people who worked for, or against, his father were never good men. He tried to quickly find an escape route, giving up hope of his mother coming to rescue him, before simply attempting to climb over the edge of the balcony. Immediately as he dropped his weight, he felt his shoulder slip out of place, causing a scream he quickly tried to hide from the surely incoming newcomers. He use one arm to pull himself back up, whimpering and shaking the whole way before he collapsed and curled up on the balcony, crying and clutching his shoulder.  _ ****  
** **

_ After a few minutes he heard shouts and rushed footfalls, someone faintly running up the stairs and bursting into the room he was hiding outside of. Someone peeked around the curtain, a muffled noise of shock followed by quiet murmurings before the door gently slid open. _ ****  
** **

_"_ _ Hi, let's get you somewhere else, okay?" Shock black hair and a kind smile stepped forward after Gavin obviously recoiled from the first person's handlebar moustache and tattoos. I'm Trevor," he supplied, the boy could be no older than 10, before gently touching Gavin's shoulder and pushing it back into place. Gavin let out a wail, causing Tattoos to visibly flinch in sympathy as Trevor picked him up. "That's Geoff," Trevor continued, gesturing towards Tattoos, no,  _ Geoff _ , before gently running a hand through Gavin's hair and rushing back through the house, sliding into one of the black cars sitting outside. Trevor continued to simply hold the boy, cooing at him and using various clothing pieces he found around the van to dry him off. Geoff was with them within a few moments, sliding into the driver's seat and speeding off, back towards their base. _ ****  
** **

- ****  
** **

Gavin came to the sudden realization, his birthday, truly his "anniversary of being saved" day, was shockingly close to the day of his mother's passing. ****  
** **

"He killed her." It came out choked, words he never wanted to process, let alone find out were real. Gavin squeezed his eyes closed, convinced he would not cry again, not today at least. He quickly rose, ready to make the walk back to the bike, and Trevor. Trevor who had insisted on driving him, who said he wasn't fit to go alone, who said he wouldn't take him all the way, but needed to know he was safe. Trevor who spent an afternoon reading a book in the sun so Gavin knew he wouldn't be alone. Trevor who loved Gavin more than the world. Trevor who was Gavin's family, above all else. ****  
** **

"You okay?" Gavin was shocked out of his own thoughts, realizing he had finished the walk and had been absent-mindedly standing in front of Trevor, eyes glazed over and expression blank. **  
**

**** "Yeah, yeah, just, let's go home." Trevor nodded in agreement, swinging himself onto the bike before pulling Gavin on behind him. Trevor revved the engine, "I love you, Trev."   
  
" I know, buddy. Love you, too."  



	9. Living Each Day Blind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New discoveries are made - some shit happens, there's a Wild Ride

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> what are summaries? spent a good hour trying to come up with one whoops  
> yay for the final!!!!! hope you enjoyed this fic as much as Eliza and I loved writing it! - Sarah

Alfredo was the new name on the streets. Slicked back black hair, a suave and racially inclusive member added to the Los Santos gangs, but specifically to the Fake AH Crew. The Fakes were quick to take him in; they couldn’t value losing the sight of a valued asset, plus he was just nice to have around in general. The added benefit of a plethora of jokes at Trevor’s expense did sweeten the deal for them. He quickly proved himself to be at the highest skill in his area, spreading intel before it even showed up online, a wildfire of knowledge that stopped for no man.  Ryan approached him one day, following a specific path that he hoped Alfredo could accommodate. 

“Limp, heavy on the right leg, probably a bad temper.” Alfredo nodded knowingly, disappearing for a few minutes before coming back with a folder. Ryan whistled and mumbled an awed “holy shit” as it was flipped open and its pages were set out before him.

“Yeah, couple hours east, next state over. He’s currently the ‘mob boss’ in some small rural town, though there’s barely any crime to boss, in reality.” Alfredo let out a low laugh, pulling out a map of the miniature town, circling a few gas stations that were used as fronts and dealing spots. “He lives around here, no definite address but it’s on this street.” Alfredo neatly piled the papers, clipped them together and handed them to Ryan with an easy smile, “Do him good, yeah?” Ryan nodded, taking the papers and slipping off onto his mission.

-

Ryan promptly vanished for the next few days, Geoff covering his tracks with vague ideas of a minor job he was handling. It seemed normal, Ryan often took quite a few solo jobs in his down time, but this one felt peculiar to Gavin. He couldn’t quite pinpoint why. 

When Ryan returned nearly a week later with smudged face paint and a split lip, asking Gavin to follow him outside, the situation reached a new level of strange. Gavin didn’t ask any questions, however, as he followed behind the elder. They soon reached Ryan’s black and red Kuruma, and Ryan opened the passenger door, gesturing with grand flourish for Gavin to enter. A low bow at the waist, a hand extended out, and Gavin let out a shocked laugh, accepting his hand and slipping into the car. Ryan quickly got in the driver’s seat, turning them out onto the road and driving at a startlingly calm speed. 

“Where we goin’, Rye Bread?” Gavin was gently rubbing a spot on the door, keeping his eyes away from the road.

“It’s a secret.” Ryan responded, sing-song and poking Gavin gently on the nose as he turned down into an alley by the docks.

“No secrets here are good ones,” Gavin muttered, following Ryan out of the car and towards a warehouse as a large lock was undone and the large doors slid open with a loud creaking noise that made Gavin’s hands jump to cover his ears.  
“Ta-da!” Ryan made an over-the-top gesture to the inside, letting Gavin enter the shadows before following closely behind him. He shut the doors, watching the room darken with what could almost be called glee. There was a single light present in the middle of the room, and the younger man approached it warily, as Ryan stayed behind and watched.  

The light was shining down on an older man, tied up and gagged with a cheap red bow stuck to his head. Shocked, Gavin froze as he saw the color of that man’s eyes. The shade of green was… startlingly familiar. He glanced to Ryan, and the other glanced back to him with a sharp nod, and then Gavin  _ knew _ . His stunned look quickly morphed into one of anger. Though, not at Ryan, he was  _ very _ much grateful to the other. He’d have to find some way to pay him back, later. For now, though…

Ryan remained poised in the shadows, his silhouette just barely noticeable in the dim lighting. He was ready to help, if it was necessary. But for now, he was content to watch the scene in front of him unfold. Gavin approached his father, picking up a knife from the table next to the chair. “Remember when you wanted me  _ so _ desperately, all of those years ago? Well, here I am,  _ daddy _ .” His infuriated frown changed into a maniacal smirk, as the knife graced the older man’s skin. Those identical green eyes widened considerably, and some weakened protests were heard trying to break through the rag stuck into his mouth. His son ignored the cries, though, as the knife continued glancing over the vast expanses of the man’s skin, ripping through his thin clothing in the process. 

Gavin continued on his spree for quite a while, slicing and dicing as he pleased, but nearly dropped the knife as he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder.

“Hand me the knife, real quick. I’ve got a better way.”

As he was handed the knife, Ryan’s bare mask glanced to the older man, his icy blue eyes glimmering with hate, before his expression went blank once more. He pressed the knife gently into his skin, dragging it slowly and barely breaking the skin. The ensuing effect was anything but gentle, in reality it was quite the opposite. 

“There’s less mess this way.”

As the pitch of the man’s screams increased drastically, Ryan handed the knife back to Gavin. 

“You got it?”

A blunt “mhm,” was Gavin’s reply, and as Ryan backed away, Gavin continued on his way. He implemented this newly discovered trick, Ryan watching on in smug satisfaction. As time ticked by, Gavin became more and more reckless, the shallow cuts spreading farther across the elder’s body. After a while, though, his screams soon faded to whimpers and yelps, and then, even later, to complete silence. When Gavin halted at one point, he glanced from the knife to the body, and Ryan watched his shoulders slump. Just as he had predicted, Gavin turned back towards him, a pouty look on his face.

“Damnit, I killed him.” Ryan, as cold as he was towards these kinds of things, had to hold back a shudder. Those words didn’t belong in that boy’s mouth. He huffed, approaching the two, and gently tugging the knife out of his grip. Setting the weapon back in its designated place, Ryan untied the man from the chair. 

“We should clean up, play time’s over. The sun has set by now,” Ryan gently nudged the man’s calf with his foot, “we can probably just dump him into the ocean.” Gavin gave a short nod, following him outside. Ryan grabbed the back of the chair and pulled, dragging it and the body so he wouldn’t get covered in blood, before filling his pockets with gravel and shoving him off the dock. Gavin tried to skip the knife like a stone, complaining when it didn’t even skip once. The entire walk back Ryan was forced to explain the logistics of a knife  _ not  _ skipping.

When the two returned to Ryan’s Kuruma and climbed inside, Ryan glanced over to the younger.

“Hey, Gavin, are you alright?” His voice was concerned, completely lacking the blank tone of a few hours ago. He had never seen Gavin the way he had back at the warehouse. 

“Yeah, m’fine. It’s just… you know. After not knowing where he was for so long, and that…”  Gavin mumbled, glancing over to the docks in front of them.

“Yeah, I understand. Let’s get you back to the penthouse, I’m sure Geoff and Jack are worried about us, we’ve been gone for a while.” Ryan started the car, pulling out of the alley and back onto the road towards the inner city, and the penthouse, to home.

By the time they arrived, Gavin was shaking. Ryan had to run around the car and open the door, grasping at Gavin as his first step out almost made him eat shit on the concrete. 

“Whoa, whoa, let’s go together. I’ve got you.” He carefully grasped the younger, gently pressing his chin into the matted blond hair of the other, as he guided Gavin inside of the building and to the elevator that would bring them back to their family. Gavin’s trembles lessened, but didn’t cease, and Ryan just continued silently holding him, rubbing circles into his back as he did so.

The door opened to a worried Jack and Geoff, quickly scooping both of the men into tight hugs. Gavin leaned into their embrace, and Ryan’s shoulders relaxed. Geoff gently guided them towards the living room, keeping them standing while Jack brought them new clothes. The two hastily changed, chucking the bloody shirts away from sight, hoping to ignore the memory for just a little longer. Geoff laid an insistent hand on both of their shoulders, pressing down until the sat on the soft pallet made in the middle of the penthouse. Gavin gave a shy giggle, tucking in on himself before Trevor sat down beside him and languidly stretched out over him.

“Oh, I’m sorry Gav, were you here?” Trevor asked with a smile playing on his face, stretching more into Gavin’s lap and forcing him to stop curling in. Ryan laughed at the antics, smiling as Geoff and Jack sat down with them.

“The others will be here in a few, they wanted to get snacks.” Jack handed out bottles of water and threw around pillows until everyone was comfortable, turning on a movie so they could all ignore the outside world and bask in the company of family. They were home, they were safe, and Gavin’s past was now finally behind him, and more importantly, at the bottom of the ocean.


End file.
